Jeffrey L. Kessler

NEW YORK - Jeffrey L. Kessler, co-executive chairman of Winston & Strawn LLP, is a world renowned antitrust law, sports law, and commercial litigation and arbitration lawyer. He has served as lead counsel in some of the most complex antitrust, sports, commercial and intellectual property litigations in the country, including major jury trials and arbitrations, and has represented a number of U.S. and international companies in criminal and civil investigations involving antitrust law, sports law, trade and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Kessler regularly engages in high-profile sports litigation, including the landmark case college players brought against the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Alston v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, et al. 141 S. Ct. 2141 (2021).

"I was the co-counsel in a case called Alston v. NCAA and that litigation challenged the compensation rules of the NCAA under the antitrust laws," Kessler said. "This case went all the way up to the Supreme Court. We won, unanimously, setting in motion a whole host of changes in the NCAA."

Kessler has joined his Alston co-class counsel in new litigation for a putative class of current and former NCAA Division I student athletes who allege that NCAA rules violated U.S. antitrust law by prohibiting them from earning compensation for their names, images and likenesses (NIL) while they contend the NCAA is profiteering off student athletes' names, images and likenesses. House, et al. v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, et al. 4:20-cv 03919, (N.D. Cal., filed June 15, 2020.)

"We are seeking damages for those athletes, which will go back to 2016," Kessler said. "The case seeks triple damages for the past and an injunction to prevent the NCAA from restricting NIL rights in the future." Kessler spoke about another high-profile case filed in the Northern District of Illinois brought by political activists challenging LexisNexis's Accurint product offerings. Ramirez, et al. v. LexisNexis Risk Solutions, 1:22-cv-05384 (N.D. Ill., filed Sept. 30, 2022).

Kessler and the team at Winston & Strawn represent LexisNexis Risk Solutions as the defendant in this action.

"Most police departments across the country use my client's databases from public and other lawful sources because they have been a tremendous tool in helping them solve crimes," Kessler said. "There are groups out there who don't think that data about individuals should be utilized for any reason."

Kessler explained that the complaint seeks a judgment that LexisNexis Risk Solutions' products violate various Illinois laws and an order prohibiting LexisNexis Risk Solutions from "collecting, aggregating and selling plaintiffs' personal data."

But, Kessler argues, "none of these laws prohibit the gathering and dissemination of such data for purposes that are beneficial to public safety and the facilitation of e-commerce."